This page is dedicated to the master philosopher and writer, The Marquis de Sade. His writing is considered vulgar to many, and perhaps antisocial. But his philosophies, no matter in what text he portrays them, are truer than any other philosopher ever. I've found that to live by the Philosophy of the Marquis de Sade, is to live happily.
In his writing, the Marquis de Sade explains his philosophies on God and religion, Sexual behavior, Social conduct, and anything else he has had his own ideas on. My favorite writings by him are, "Philosophy in the Bedroom", which is a dialogue between numerous persons. In the dialogue is where the Marquis expresses his ideas. The Philosophies of the characters are actually his own. It runs like a play, because there is action in it as well. This could have been performed in theory although it would be nearly impossible to find actors due to it's extremely taboo nature. Another is called, "A Dialogue Between a Priest and a Dying Man." This is a short essay on his philosophies on religion and God. Marquis de Sade was a vehement atheist, and disliked the mention of God. He once stated, "The idea of God is the soul wrong for which I can not forgive mankind."(Aline et Valcour). "A Dialogue Between a Priest and a Dying Man" is an interesting piece due to it's calm nature in explaning the philosophy in the story to the priest. The dying man represents the Marquis and his philosophy and the Priest is the character representing the flaws in society. His full-legnth novel is entitled, "Justine", and instead of telling you about it, I'd prefer to just let you read it yourself. It's an excellent piece of writing, and very explicit. He was arrested for having written it.
Here is a short biography of the Marquis de Sade
Marquis de Sade (1740-1814) Sadism:Is the term used to describe the sexual preference involving the infliction of pain. Is derived from "Sade". Marquis de Sade spent more than 27 years of his life in prison because of his remarkably scandalous life. Most of his works, still considered obscene and unpublishable, were written during his prison years. "Justine" (pub. 1791), "Juliette" (pub. 1798), The 120 Days of Sodom (written 1785, but not discovered until 1904), "Aline et Valcour" (pub. 1795), "Philosophy in the Boudoir (pub. 1795), and "Crimes of Love" (pub. 1800) are his most famous works. His other noteable works include, Seven letters (1763-1790), "A Dialoge Between a Priest and a Dying Man" (pub. 1782), "Note Concerning My Detention" (1803), Last Will and Testament (1806), and "Eugenie de Franval" (pub. 1788).
Sade was born on June 2, 1740 in Paris, pursuing a military career as a youth in the Seven Years War (1756-63). He then married, but at the same time he began living the scandal-ridden life of a libertine. He was soon convicted of acts of violence and debauchery and sent to prison. He was sentenced to death in 1772 but was given a reprieve. He fled briefly to Italy. No sooner did he return to Paris in 1777, than he was again arrested. He was imprissoned at Vincennes, in the Bastille of Paris, and finally in the insane asylum at Charenton. From 1790-1801 he was free living in Paris, where he offered several plays to the Comedie-Francaise. In 1801 he was arrested for having written "Justine". In 1803 he was confined again to Charenton and remained there until his death on December 2, 1814.
Here is a small collection of my favorite quotes and philosophies by Marquis de Sade.
"Imperious, choleric, irascible, extreme in everything, with a dissolute imagination the like of which has never been seen, atheistic to the point of fanaticism, there you have me in a nutshell, and kill me again or take me as I am, for I shall not change."
-From the Marquis de Sade's Last Will and Testament
"Certain souls seem hard because they are capable of strong feelings, and they sometimes go to rather extreme legnths; their aparent unconcern and cruelty are but ways, known only to themselves, of feeling more strongly than others."
-Philosophy in the Bedroom
"Any enjoyment is weakened when shared."
"No kind of sensation is keener and more active than pain; it's impressions are unmistakable."
"If it is the dirty element that gives pleasure to the act of lust, then the dirtier it is, the more pleasurable it is bound to be."
"There is a kind of pleasure which comes from sacrilege or the profanation of the objects offered us for worship."
"All universal moral principles are idle fantasies."
"Sexual pleasure is, I agree, a passion to which all others are subordinate but in which they all unite."
"If the objects who serve us feel ecstacy, they are much more often concerned with themselves than with us, and our enjoyment is consequently impaired. The idea of seeing another person experience the same pleasure reduces one to a kind of equality which spoils the unutterable charms that come from depotism."
"Crime is the soul of lust. What would pleasure be if it were not accompanied by crime? It is not the object of debauchery that excites us, rather the idea of evil."
"One must do violence to the object of one's desire; when it surrenders, the pleasure is greater."
"The pleasure of the senses is always regulated in accordance with the imagination. Man can aspire to felicity only by serving all the whims of his imagination."
"It has, moreover, been proven that horror, nastiness, and the frightful are what give pleasure when one fornicates. Beauty is a simple thing; ugliness is the exceptional thing. And firey imaginations, no doubt, always prefer the extraordinary thing to the simple thing."
-120 Days of Sodom
"We are no guiltier in following the primitive impulses that govern us than is the Nile for her floods or the sea for her waves"
"Let us dare do violence to the unintelligable Nature, the better to master the art of enjoying her."
"I have supported my deviations with reasons; I did not stop at mere doubt; I have vanquished, I have uprooted, I have destroyed everything in my heart that might have interfered with my pleasure."
"Now I beg of you to tell me whether I must love a human being simply because he exists or resembles me and whether for those reasons alone I must suddenly prefer him to myself?"
-Aline et Valcour
"Has not Nature proved, in giving us the stregnth necessary to submit them to our desires, that we have the right to do so?"
"It is not the opinions or the voices of private individuals that are harmful to the State, but rather the behavior of public figures."
"All creatures are born isolated and have no need of one another."
"True felicity lies only in the senses, and virtue gratifies none of them."